PRINCE WILLIAM marked his 21st birthday yesterday with a declaration that he has come to terms with his destiny to be king.

His statement makes it clear he will accede to the throne after his father, the Prince of Wales, and that he has overcome his anxiety about living his life under public scrutiny.

"It's not a question of wanting to be, it's something I was born into and it's my duty," he said in an interview released on the eve of his coming-of-age party at Windsor Castle last night.

"Those stories about me not wanting to be king are all wrong. Sometimes I do get anxious about it but I don't really worry about it a lot. I think about it a lot but they are my own personal thoughts."

The prince also spoke of his desire to make the monarchy "relevant" to people's lives and talked of his admiration for the Queen. He went on to quash reports that he has a serious girlfriend.

The influence of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, shines through in his definition of kingship.

"It's all about helping people and dedication and loyalty which I hope I have  I know I have," he said.

But the clear impression of the interview, and new photographs released with it, is that, as he matures, the Windsor in him is becoming stronger.

The birthday portraits taken by Mario Testino, the fashion photographer, appear to show a slight fading of the tousled fresh-faced looks of his teenage years that he inherited from his mother.

William said it would be "dangerous" to predict future changes in the monarchy. "Modernisation is quite a strong word to use with the monarchy because it's something that's been around for many hundreds of years," he said. "But it's important that people feel the monarchy can keep up with them and is relevant to their lives."

The enthusiastic scenes that greeted William last week at his public engagements in Wales confirmed his status as the lone superstar of the royal family.

But in the interview the prince emphasised his position as a member of the wider family "firm", and said he would not undertake solo engagements until he leaves university in the summer of 2005.

"There is a great sense of loyalty and dedication among the family and it rubs off on me," he said.

After an earlier appeal to people to give his "amazing" father "a break", he was equally effusive about the Queen. "She's a huge role model for me  she's incredible," he said.

"My grandmother has achieved so much in her lifetime and she's just so experienced. She's been put in some really difficult positions and yet she handles it very well. What she's done for this country is amazing."

The second most senior bishop in the Church of England is to call today for the coronation service of the Prince of Wales to be a "multicultural" event designed to reflect the diversity of modern Britain. David Hope, archbishop of York, will call for the oath taken by the Queen and past monarchs to uphold the "Protestant, reformed religion" to be dropped.

I think William will be a good king. Who knows what he might accomplish. I disagree with those on the thread who think the monarchy is nothing, it's an important tradition for the Brits. I'm glad we don't have one, but I think it would be a mistake for the Brits to give it up. It's such a part of their history and if it was removed, a lot of what makes Britain....well...British, would be gone forever.

The Queen of England is the Chief of State in Australia, New Zealand and Canada (as well as other countries I believe).

According to the CIA world fact book on Australia:

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II...

elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general...

This same set of affairs exists in New Zealand. In Canada it is slightly different. I know in the past the Queen actually intervened with the elected gov't in Australia when it was deemed too radical- she removed it. So it would seem that she does indeed have some power somewhere in the world. She's also the head of the Church of England, the Commander in Chief of Britain's armed forces and she's got a lot of money which is a form of power in itself. I might be mistaken but I think she actually has a bit more power in some parts of the world than she does in the UK although, that might be a mistake on my part.

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.